Sahapat boosts logistics facilities

Corporate March 21, 2017 01:00

By JIRAPAN BOONNOON
THE NATION

CONSUMER-GOODS distributor Sahapat will invest around Bt650 million to set up a new central warehouse and data centre as it targets revenue of Bt33 billion this year. The company says it will also come out with new products.

Boonchai Chokwatana, chairman of Saha Pathanapibul, said the new central warehouse would enhance its stock and logistics management. The warehouse in Chon Buri province will have an area of around 50,000 square metres.

Sahapat will also invest around Bt50 million to set up a data centre and servers to facilitate the company’s information-technology expansion, and it will be able to provide cloud-computing services to the private sector next month.

The company will set up 20 Beyond multi-brand shops to distribute sportswear such as Under Armour and Adidas products. It opened its first Beyond shop, in Ubon Ratchathani province, this month. The company expects revenue from multi-brand shops to approach Bt500 million this year.

Boonchai said that in the current quarter, Sahapat had received new customers for its subsidiaries’ products, ranging from Mama instant noodles and pre-cooked rice soup to Suesat noodles, GOO.N baby wipes and Good Age products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash and moisturising lotions.

He said the firm this year expected revenue of Bt33 billion, of which its Mama instant noodles would contribute around Bt9.6 billion, followed by detergent products at more than Bt5 billion. Revenue is expected to growth by 10 per cent from last year. However, in the first two months, revenue growth was only around 7 per cent compared with the same period in 2016.

“I think that the economy in the country is in recovery, and GDP [will grow by more than] 3.2 per cent. The continuing growth in customers’ demand will drive our revenue growth to around 10 per cent by the end of this year,” he said.

Sahapat has developed an internal strategy through the implementation of strategic marketing planners, initiators and motivators. This will enable employees to find the most appropriate development and marketing strategy for each product, create tools to motivate all employees to initiate and create ideas, and allow all departments to translate the company’s policy into the employees’ innovation.

Meanwhile, the company is also expanding its distribution channels in popular tourist destinations such as Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district, Pattaya and Phuket.

Boonchai noted that in 2016, 81.3 per cent of the companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand earned high profits, valued at more than Bt908.855 billion altogether, equal to 30.4-per-cent growth from 2015. Meanwhile, the retail and wholesale businesses grew by 7-8 per cent from the prior year.